It’s pretty rare that three of the county volleyball teams all played just home games during a given week. It’s probably even more rare that all would hold serve at home and rack up a pair of victories. That’s just what Fillmore Central, Chatfield, and Rushford-Peterson did (the week of Monday the 16th). R-P got things going. They hosted Houston in a non-conference match-up. A trio of Kendra Crawford aces (with the score 19-16 Trojans) helped R-P take sufficient enough lead in set one to claim it 25-18. R-P opened set two with 11 of the first 13 points, but the Hurricanes then had runs of 7-0 and 5-0 to tie things at 18. With it 23-23, R-P scored the final two points for the win and 2-0 lead. Houston took the big lead to begin set three (11-3). But a 6-0 Trojan run (Crawford again serving) knotted things at 18. R-P would narrowly pull it out from there for another 25-23 win (the 3-0 sweep). Sierra McNamer and Keela Brand led the Trojans offensively with 7 kills apiece. Brand added 7 digs. Crawford was big defensively (11 digs) and from the service line (13-14 with 5 aces). Abbey Loken was Houston’s best all-around player, leading the ‘Canes with 12 kills and 11 digs. Natalie King had 5 kills and 3 blocks. Valerie Hibbs came off the bench and had 17 assists (all in sets two and three).

On Tuesday, both Fillmore Central and Chatfield, the front-runners in the 3-Rivers conference, made quick work of their opponents. FC blasted Southland in straight sets 25-9, 25-4, 25-11, as the Rebels couldn’t make it to 25 points in three games. Five Falcons chalked up five or more kills led by the emerging 5’9” junior MH Leah Scheevel (10 kills) and the long-since emerged Taylor Case (10 kills). Tori Peterson (7 kills), Sammi Bakke (7 kills), and Morgan Malley (5 kills, 9 digs, 21 assists) also found open spaces in the Rebels defense. Back row players Tayah Barnes (5 digs, 2 aces 20-20 serving) and Larissa Armstrong (7 digs, 3 aces, 20-20 serving) made it a team effort. The Gophers weren’t quite so lights-out versus St. Charles, but they weren’t far behind either. Chatfield marched through the Saints 25-13, 25-15, and 25-12. Brook Irish, a 5’10” junior OH, brought the hammer 12 times. Kirsten Keefe was Ms. Versatility with 7 kills and 7 digs. The Salisbury sisters (Gabrielle/Sheridan) combined for 7 kills, 29 assists (24 by Gabrielle), 11 digs, 2 aces, 1.5 blocks, and connected on 27-28 serves. The Saints were in the ‘not top ten’ with eight ‘two-hit’ violations.

On Thursday, the Falcons played St. Charles. The Saints were able to get to 25 on the FC, collectively in all three sets combined. FC thumped SC 25-10, 25-5, 25-13. Scheevel and Peterson led FC on the attack with 11 kills each. Case (8 kills, 11 digs) and Kaitlynn Aug (7 kills) weren’t far behind. Bakke was the standout server connecting on 20-21 attempts with 2 aces (plus 5 kills). Malley had 33 assists and Sara Schultz was second on the team with 10 digs. Meanwhile up highway 52, Chatfield proved, beyond a shadow a doubt, Wabasha-Kellogg is down, way down. The first two sets between the clubs were competitive. Chatfield survived 6 service errors in game one to win 25-21. In set two, they benefited from 6 service violations by the Falcons, and from five Brook Irish kills, to win 25-17. In the third game, the Gophers exercised any previous demons they had from losing to the ultra good W-K Falcons the past few years. Only four Gophers served. Alex Duxbury scored four points, Kirsten Keefe six, Camille Rasmussen seven, and Maddy Kammer five. Chatfield pounded Wabasha-Kellogg 25-4 in game three. The Gophers never trailed in the match, and their were only two ties (9-apiece in sets one and two). Brook Irish was again the Gophers biggest hammer. Five-foot-ten athleticism has its privileges, like 9 kills and 2 blocks. Kammer and Keefe each contributed 7 kills, Keefe 9 digs. The Salisbury sisters again shared the setting duties and again combined to tabulate the stats (6 kills, 26 assists, 10 digs, and 3 aces all by Sheridan). Alex Duxbury also had 9 digs and a pair of aces. FC and Chatfield lead the 3-Rivers at 5-0 each. The Falcons are 16-2 overall. Chatfield is 10-7.

Finally, Rushford-Peterson and Kingsland played the best ‘volleyball’ game of the six contests. It was a back-and-forth defensive affair. R-P seemingly had control of game one, up 17-10, as senior Sierra McNamer came out of the blocks swinging (6 kills in the set). However, the Knights rallied with a 9-2 run to tie the set at 19. With it 22-21 R-P, the Trojans got their server-extraordinaire for the week, Kendra Crawford behind the back-line. Crawford aced the Knights twice, and then served the last point as R-P got the 25-21 win. Set two again saw the Trojans again take command. They led 15-9 when the Knights again rallied. A 6-0 run made it a new contest (15-all). With it 21-all, Crawford again stepped back to serve. A couple aces and a couple R-P kills later and the Trojans were winners again, 25-21. Keela Brand had 11 digs in the set alone. In game three, Kingsland scored the first three points, but then R-P assumed control, leading by as many as seven (16-9). Cue the Knights third comeback in as many games. An ace by Haley Colton tied things at 22. R-P, though, staved off a longer nights work. Freshman Brianna Koop hammered down the final two points of the game and match to send R-P to 25-23 win, the 3-0 sweep. McNamer (12 kills) and Koop (8 kills) led the Trojans on the attack. Crawford and Brand (18 and 16 digs) respectively showed their elite defensive capabilities. Kendra added 4 aces. For Kingsland, who just didn’t have the offensive front-line punch, Reann Kimbal was their best top attacker with 9 kills. Senior Brianna Musel had 6 kills and 14 digs. Haley Colton (9 digs) and Rialie Fenske (9 digs) also were active defensively. R-P’s record improve to 2-3 in the 3-Rivers, 8-6 overall. Kingsland’s fell to 0-5, 3-8 overall.

A Rivalry Comes to an End

Six years, six matches, twenty-four sets, no real winner. That’s ultimately how the non-conference series between volleyball powers Caledonia and Mabel-Canton turned out. Two thousand thirteen is the last year the two teams will play each other in a scheduled regular season tilt. Next year, the SEC absorbs Randolph, giving the league eleven total schools (nine for football, meaning everyone will play each other once). And thus, per MSHSL match restrictions, the Cougars and Warriors will cede each other from their schedules. Oddly, the last two contests between the ballyhooed programs, between fellow Luther alums and friends Lonnie Morken and Scott Koepke, were kind of uncompetitive. But, in being that way, they evened each other out, and evened out the all-time series. A season ago, Caledonia used the amazingness of seniors Maria Fruechte and Emma Lange to dominate M-C in straight sets (25-17, 25-16, 25-14). This season, M-C’s amazing seniors, Belle Sand, Lydia Geving, and Carly McCabe, who’ve played in five of the six M-C/Caledonia battles, returned the favor. The Cougars cruised thru the first two sets 25-17 and 25-13. In game three, the Warriors put up a fight. It was thus symbolic that the last set between the two schools was competitive. M-C got the 25-23 win and 3-0 sweep. Coach Morken was impressed with the way his girls played in, basically, their toughest match-up to date. Sand (16 kills, 13 digs, 4 aces), Geving (12 kills, 16 digs, 4 aces), and McCabe (35 assists, 9 digs, 3 kills) were big, putting up some of their best collective numbers of the season. Sara Lind added 8 kills and 2 blocks. The six-year feud ended with each team winning three and losing three, each team winning 12 sets and losing 12 sets. They each beat each other 3-0, 3-1, and 3-2.

‘Canes Find Ground Game, Win

Through the first three games, the entire season really, the Houston Hurricanes have had things tough. They essentially should add an extra H-word to their names and called themselves the Hard-luck Houston Hurricanes. First they lost starting tailback Tyler Hoskins for the season. Their other top returning RB, Peter Jergenson, missed the first two games per injury. Houston opened the year with a loss to Lanesboro on the last play, as a Christian Sires pass was intercepted in the end zone. They then lost to Mabel-Canton in the final minute when Sires was stopped on 4th down from the Cougar 11-yardline. They then took on state ranked Spring Grove and gave the Lions all they could handle. Houston led 24-20 with under 5:00 to play when Lion Caleb Happel scored his third TD of the game. It allowed SG to squeak past the ‘Canes 28-24, dropping Houston’s record to 0-2 in the SEC, 0-3 overall. Jergenson returned for the game with SG. He really returned for a week four meeting with 2-1 LeRoy-Ostrander. With QB Christian Sires out per injury, the ‘Canes abandoned the pass and went to the ground. They may not have put it all on Jergenson’s shoulders, but they put a lot on him. The 210-pound senior carried the ball 32 times for 229 yards and 3 TD’s. The ‘Canes overcame a 15-0 first quarter deficit to score 26 unanswered points and get their first win of the year, 26-15. They are now 1-2 in the SEC, 1-3 overall. Dylan Lee, the one lone constant offensive weapon in every game this, helped Jergenson out. Lee had 14 carries for 49 yards and a TD on the ground.

No Comments Yet. Be the first to comment!

Username:

Message:

Your comment submission is also an acknowledgement that this information may be reprinted in other formats such as the newspaper.